JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — The dominoes did not fall Sam Houston's way in a 21-11 loss to Jax State at AmFirst Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The loss puts a damper on the Bearkats' chances of making the Conference USA title game as they fell to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in league play with one game left in the regular season.
With the win and a loss later in the day by WKU at Liberty, the Gamecocks remain in sole possession of first place in the league and will host the title game on December 6. The Kats, meanwhile, still have their sights set on a return trip to JSU, but will need to defeat Liberty on Nov. 29 at Bowers Stadium and have Jax State take down WKU next week in the regular-season finale.
Jax State set the tone early, taking the opening kickoff and marching down the field for a quick 7-0 lead on a scoring run by quarterback Tyler Huff, who rushed for 177 yards and three touchdowns on the day.
Meanwhile, the Kats' offense struggled to get on track early but still got a 34-yard field goal from Christian Pavon in the second quarter to cut the lead to 7-3, only to see Huff once again put points on the board for a 14-3 lead at the break for the Gamecocks.
It marked the fourth straight game the Bearkat offense failed to get in the end zone in the first half, but quarterback Hunter Watson, also surpassed the century mark on the ground with 105 yards rushing for the day, used his legs to inch Sam Houston closer to begin the third when he weaved his way into the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the second half. He also ran in the two-point conversion, and just like that the Kats were back in it at 14-11.
Sam Houston moved the ball better in the second half, but two missed field goals - one from 37 yards away that would have tied the game in the third - hurt the Kats' chances of stealing the road win.
Neither team put up eye-popping offensive numbers. Sam Houston had 259 yards, and Jax State finished with 332. The Gamecocks just got the big plays from Huff, including his final rushing touchdown with just over 11 minutes left in the game.
Sam Houston closes the regular season on Nov. 29 when Liberty comes to Bowers Stadium for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff which will be aired on CBS Sports Network.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Kavian Gaither finished with a career high of 17 total tackles in addition to 3.0 TFLs from his linebacker spot. The tackle total ties for the 11th most in a single game in program history and gives him exactly 250 stops for his career, while the 3.0 TFLs was the most for the senior since he had 4.0 in a win at Utah Tech in 2022
- Gaither was one of three Bearkat defenders with double-digit tackles as Caleb Weaver added 11 and Trey Fields had 10
- Hunter Watson led the offensive attack, rushing for 105 yards on the ground. It was his third 100-yard rushing game this year and the sixth for a Bearkat this season
- Noah Smith had six receptions for 65 yards to extend his streak to 29 straight games with a catch
- Sam Houston stopped Jax State on three fourth-down tries in the game. Bearkat opponents have only converted two of their last 13 tries on fourth down, including each of their last eight
- The Kats took the opening drive of the second half and scored a touchdown, going 78 yard in 12 plays. It marked the third straight game the Kats did not score a touchdown in the first half, but took their opening drive of the second half the distance into the end zone
- JSU finished with just 54 yards in the air, the third time this season a Bearkat opponent has thrown for less than 100 yards in a game
- Jax State got into the end zone on its first drive of the game, scoring the first opening-drive points by a Bearkat opponent since WKU opened the game with a touchdown
